The present invention relates to a gun lock, namely to a device which can be engaged with a gun so that the gun is rendered incapable of being fired until the device is disengaged.
At present, there are wall-mounted brackets, racks and the like by means of which a gun such as a rifle or shotgun can be immobilised. But if a gun is released so as to be portable, there is no convenient way of rendering it inoperable by unauthorised persons.
Various gun locks have been proposed. GB No. 2,143,623 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,099 disclose devices that are insertable into gun barrels and lockable by radial expansion. These have various disadvantages. For example, they do not prevent the accidental firing of a gun. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,392,471, 4,084,341 and GB No. 1,290,330 disclose devices having two plates connectable by shanks. In use the plates are located on respective sides of a trigger guard and clamped firmly together by the shank which passes through the guard. Such constructions are not convenient to use, and suit only a limited range of guns. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,654,992, 4,723,370 and GB No. 2,044,417 disclose locks having pairs of jaws that are relatively movable. Thus U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,370 discloses a device having a ratchet arm that is slidable through a slot in a body when a detent is released with a key. The arm and the body have hook formations pointing away from each other. For use, the arm is slid to bring the hooks close together, and they are inserted into a trigger guard so that one engages the guard and the other engages the trigger. They are then manually urged as far apart as possible, and locked by removal of the key. This operation is rather tricky. The fact that both body and arm have to be insertable between a trigger and a guard imposes severe manufacturing constraints. A particular device is likely to fit only a limited range of guns.